How to Use YouTube Safely with Kids
It’s the rub of having kids that for every solution we come up with, there are ten things to worry about on the other side of it. Tablets, technology, and screen time catch a lot of heat for their downsides, but for many parents, they’re indispensable distractions and educational tools that help families survive the unrealistic demands of a modern world.
There is no village. There are just the kids and the 10,000 things that can never seem to wait.
So it’s only natural that YouTube has become a thing with even the tiniest of tablet users. Controversy and parenting styles aside, most parents just want what’s best for their kids, and sometimes, that’s what’s best for EVERYONE.
But with an unlimited supply of user-created content that’s loosely regulated and constantly changing, where’s the line? How okay is YouTube for kids, and how do we make it safe and appropriate, regardless of our kids’ ages?
Internet Reality Check: Censorship Is Next to Impossible
A slew of tools exist to give parents more control over the content their children are exposed to on the internet. Parental controls allow you to exercise some degree of control and oversight over what your kids see on the internet, but how effective are they?
The answer is, that it depends.
As the breadth of content has expanded, it’s become more and more challenging to limit access for our kids without shutting off their internet access entirely. While YouTube can be a fantastic educational resource, it can also be a hub for dark, inappropriate content that sneaks past even the most attentive parents, and there’s no real way to filter that.
In addition to the technical issues that make it tough to censor digital content for our kids, there are a slew of incredibly user-friendly tools that make bypassing filters and controls incredibly simple. Kids are smart, and the most determined will find workaround easily as they get older.
The days of complex proxy addresses to bypass the school’s internet restrictions are officially gone. With 4G network access and tools like VPNs, mischievous kids can use remote networks to access pretty much anything and do it completely under the radar.
Why Blocking and Reporting Isn’t Always Enough
Even the most diligent parents catch a video or two that makes it past their radar, but even blocking that video doesn’t do much to prevent it from happening again.
As quickly as channels and videos are blocked and reported, new ones sprout up like weeds under different IP addresses, making it past YouTube’s filters and slipping back into the content feed until someone else flags the material.
In addition to the constant ebb and flow of inappropriate content that occasionally bubbles to the surface, there’s no real way to control the ads that kids see in their content, and they’re not always age-appropriate.
YouTube Kids — Is It Safer?
In response to reports from parents about disturbing content making it into their kids’ YouTube feeds, YouTube created YouTube Kids. This arm of the app has extra features that make it easier for parents to keep inappropriate content at bay:
- Kid profiles with viewing settings and preferences
- Ability to block videos and channels
- Watch history
- The ability to turn off search
- Timer
- Report videos
- Parent-approved content
Until a few months ago, many of these features offered little customization.
However, with the recent rolling out of the parent-approved content feature, YouTube Kids is really stepping up their game: Android users now have the ability to handpick all videos and channels in their child’s feed.
iOS users are still waiting patiently — YouTube has promised them the same functionality across mobile Apple devices is on the way.
To create an approved-only content list, just go into the app settings, choose your child’s profile, disable the search option (if you haven’t already), and choose “Approved-Only Content.” From there, just tap the “+” button to add channels or individual videos to a custom list.
So does YouTube Kids make it safer?
We’re getting there. While parental oversight is still the best way to make sure creepy content isn’t sneaking past your radar, this latest app update is a huge step in the right direction.
Other Options for Video Streaming
YouTube has its problems, but for many parents, video streaming is both an educational and entertainment resource that’s hard to completely dismiss. User-created content has its pitfalls, sure, but it also has the benefit of being driven by what families want to see that isn’t being produced by mega entertainment yet.
If user-created isn’t top of your list though, there are a few other options out there for streaming mainstream shows and movies that are age-appropriate:
The Real Answer to YouTube Safety
It’s a tough question with no real simple answer: keeping YouTube safe and appropriate for our kids is all about parental oversight.
There is no app-based solution. There is no filter better than our own judgment — we have to handle this ourselves.
The reality is that YouTube was created for kids 13 years and older, and even children beyond that age can stumble across content that can be scary or set a bad example.
Use it as an educational tool, as a distraction during long road trips, even when you just need 20 minutes to yourself for some yoga in the living room, but we can’t use it and assume YouTube is managing quality control for us.
Create playlists, monitor your kid’s content feed, and suggest alternative apps if you’re worried, but this ball (like so many others) is in our court.
